La Douleur Exquise
by ishdirections
Summary: Clara fell in love with five boys she could never have and didn't notice the one that fell in love with her.
1. Ren

The first person Clara fell in love with in the new city was Ren, the cafe waiter.

Every night, after a long day at the boutique, a tiring contest, and an exhausting after-party at the hotel, Clara would stop at the cafe. It was her favorite time to visit the cafe because Ren would always be working the late night shift. It was a quiet time in the cafe. There weren't many customers at the cafe that late at night, and as it got closer to midnight, Clara would often be the only customer in the cafe.

Ren would do his duties of cleaning up the tables and getting the cafe ready to close down for the night, but he would always wait for Clara to leave before locking up the cafe.

Clara's favorite nights were the nights in the cafe where she and Ren were alone. He would sit down at her table after he was done cleaning up and they would talk about what Clara was doing and her fast she was advancing through the fashion industry. Ren was the first one she she told that Michaela was handing over control of Mira Luna to her. He was also the first to know about her desire to win an international contest.

But while Clara blurted out all her plans, dreams and goals to Ren, she didn't know any more about him than what she could gather from his actions. Ren was always evasive to personal questions and she never saw him outside the cafe.

Even though she had given him multiple invitations to come by her boutique, he never stopped in. Every attempt she tried to meet up outside the cafe, Ren would reply that he was busy. She didn't know what he was busy with.

Clara often pondered if he had a girlfriend? He didn't wear a wedding ring.

One late night in September, a year after she had started her adventure in the fashion industry, after winning another contest and attending another party at the hotel, Clara stepped into cafe.

Ren greeted her with a smile from behind the counter and told her, "Clara, you can sit down at your table and I'll bring your tea to you."

"Actually," Clara said. "I was wondering if I could ask for something else."

"What did you want?" Ren asked as he picked up a cup.

"I like you!" Clara blurted out. Her face felt like it was burning up from embarrassment. "Will you go on a date with me this weekend?"

"Oh," Ren replied. He looked away from her and placed the cup down. The cafe was quiet.

Each quiet second weighed down on Clara. She felt like she had made a mistake.

"It's fine if you don't want to!" she rushed to say with her hands waving frantically in front of her as she tried to defuse the situation.

"I just wanted to tell you how I felt," Clara said quietly.

Ren looked at her and said "I' m sorry, but I don't feel the same way about you."

Clara felt despondent at his reply, but she told him "It's fine!"

"It's really fine," she repeated.

"Do you still want your tea?" Ren asked her.

Clara shook her head and said "No, I'm good. I'm still full from eating at the hotel." She hadn't eaten at the hotel. She was too nervous thinking about her confession.

"I have to go," Clara said, trying to put a smile on her face. She didn't think it was very convincing. "Have a good night."

"Good night," Ren told her as she turned around and left the cafe.

Tonight wasn't her night, she supposed as she walked back to her apartment.


	2. Spencer

The second person Clara fell in love with was never obtainable.

To her dismay, Spencer was in and out of relationships faster than she could make a move, but her hesitancy was a factor too. After confessing to Ren, she didn't feel courageous enough to say her true feelings. It was easy for her to stand on the competition stage with hundreds of people watching her and for her to give her acceptance speech, but for some reason, she couldn't seem to say what she meant to Spencer.

The first time Clara met Spencer, she was bombarded with chatter and rambling about how Spencer needed a new outfit so a girl he met in the park would take his confession seriously. After she helped pick a bold outfit for a bold boy, Spencer gave her a quick thanks and paid before rushing out to confess.

The next day, Spencer brought in the girl, Sarah, on a date.

"Sarah, this is Clara! She coordinated my outfit yesterday!" Spencer said as he introduced her.

"It was so bold! Do you think I could get an outfit to match his?" Sarah asked.

"Of course," Clara replied.

After picking out a dress and boots from AZ-USA for Sarah, Spencer and Sarah were ready to leave the boutique.

"Thanks!" Sarah said as she took the bag from Clara. "I can't wait to wear it to our date tomorrow."

"You're welcome," Clara said as she smiled at the cute couple. "Where are you going?"

"We're going to the rose garden around noon," Spencer replied.

"You should stop by the rose garden tomorrow too," Sarah told Clara. "I hear there's going to be a free concert."

"I'll put it on my calendar," Clara said non-commitedly. Spencer and Sarah said goodbye and walked out together hand in hand.

The following day, Clara was working again in her boutique when Spencer came in once again.

"Hi, Spencer. How was the date?" Clara asked.

Spencer looked away with a sad expression. "The concert was great, but at the end of the date, Sarah and I realized that we didn't click."

"I'm sorry," Clara said. She didn't know what else to say, but before the silence could stretch on, Spencer said, "But I met this wonderful girl, Naomi, when I was walking downtown after the concert."

"Really?" Clara asked.

"Yup!" Spencer said as he nodded energitically. "She's the cutest girl I ever saw. I need a bold shirt to catch her attention tomorrow."

"Alright," Clara said. "We have a new stock of shirts from Dept-9 that will definitely catch any girl's attention."

"Fantastic!" Spencer said.

For months, Spencer came in reguarly stuck in loop of entering in and out of relationships. None of his relationships lasted longer than a week. But over the months, Clara began to fall in love with Spencer's opitism. He was always in love and Clara wanted to be object of his attention.

Clara hoped that Spencer would take a glance at all the girls in the city and see her as the next person he wanted to date. At the rate he was going, it was bound to be her turn soon she hoped. Alas, that never happened. Clara had fallen in love with Spencer, a boy who seem to keep looking at every girl but her and eventually, he found a girl who would love him back.

One July afternoon, Spencer came in to her boutique gushing about this girl that had approached him in the park and asked him out. Her name was Olivia and he felt that she was the perfect girl for him.

"Olivia's different from the other girls", he insisted, "because she asked me out and a girl that courageous is definately a winner."

"Oh, that's nice," Clara replied. She didn't take his declaration very seriously because Spencer had claimed all the girls that he dated were perfect for him as well.

However, July turned into August, and the summer turned into fall. Yet, Spencer and Olivia's relationship was still going strong. So, Clara took her broken heart and told herself that she had to move on because she wasn't going to spend her time pinning for a guy already in a relationship with a girl who was more truthful about her feelings. She felt like it was far too late for her to speak up now. She wasn't courageous enough to speak up earlier and she definitely wasn't courageous enough to destroy a relationship either.


End file.
